The present invention relates to a header for milking units provided with a flow adjuster.
More particularly, the present invention relates to a header for milking units provided with a flow adjuster having the function of adjusting vacuum fluctuations and of accelerating the evacuation of the milk extracted from the mammas.
As is known, in milking plants, the milking units are the means intended for extracting milk from animal mammas, in particular of bovines, sheep and goat.
The milking units are constituted by two or four nipple-takers (two for sheep and goat, four for bovines) and a header. Nipple-takers are applied to the mammas of the animals and, depending on vacuum action, extract the milk and convey it to the header. From the header, milk is evacuated through the special lower discharge tube that connects with the milk duct or, in any case, with milk connection means.
The main drawback of the known milking units arises from the fact that the alternate and intermittent milk flows coming from the nipple-takers intersect within the header, causing milk turbulences and accumulations that cause undesired vacuum fluctuations and non-correct and irregular evacuation of the milk from the lower discharge tube.
The various attempts adopted and proposed to eliminate or contain such drawback have not brought to significant and/or satisfying results.
Object of this invention is to eliminate such drawbacks of the known milking units.
More particularly, object of this invention is to provide a header for milking units such as to allow a correct evacuation of milk from the lower discharge tube in a regular and accelerated manner, free from milk turbulences and accumulation.
From its more general aspect, the present invention allows to obtain these and other objects, which will result from the following description, arranging in the inside of the header, in alignment with the peripheral mouths of the arrival ducts of the milked milk, a flow adjuster having such a shape as to unite the individual milk flows into a single and uniform circumferential flow that regularly discharges downwards, improving the fluid-mechanic characteristics of said flow in the inside of the header. Therefore, object of this invention is a header for milking units comprising: a bell for milk collection closed by an upper wall; milked milk arrival ducts with associated peripheral mouths located on said upper wall; a discharge duct fixed to the bottom of said bell and a flow adjuster comprising an upside-down mushroom-profiled body provided with means for fastening to said header, and comprising a circular upper edge and a dished bottom connected to said upper edge; said circular upper edge having a diameter smaller than the internal diameter of the bell and such as to align with the mouths of milk arrival ducts and to form, with its external surface, one only continuous annular passage with the internal surface of the bell and the external one of said upper edge.
The particular surface profile imparts the mushroom-profiled body the functions of a circumferential baffle-conveyor bent-tile, adjuster of vacuum fluctuations, accelerator of the evacuation of milk extracted from mammas, improving the fluid-mechanic characteristics of the header. Said baffle-conveyor aligns with all the entry mouths of the header of milked milk arrival ducts from mammas and imparts to the milk coming from milking a uniform motion directed towards and along the whole internal wall of the header, adjusting its flow and preventing the formation of vacuum fluctuations, with the consequence of accelerating its evacuation towards the ducts or the milk collection means.
Besides improving the fluid-mechanic characteristics of the header, the particular configuration of the mushroom-profiled body allows also the application on it of cells for the control of electric conductivity and/or other physical and chemical parameters of milk. The cells may be as many as the entry mouths of milk arrival ducts and are located into peripheral recesses oriented in alignment with said ducts, in this way, it is possible to control during milking the electric conductivity of milk and/or its possible physical and/or chemical parameters, without interfering with the above indicated fluid-mechanic functionalities indicated above.
The cells may be protected by upper filters that adequate uninterruptedly to the baffle-conveyor surface profile of the mushroom-profiled body.
A further advantage of the flow adjuster of the present invention lays in that it may be produced in any desired size and therefore it may be applied and adopted on all the known headers available on the market or new construction ones.
The constructive and functional characteristics of the header of the present invention will be better understood thanks to the following description, wherein reference is made to the figures of the attached drawings that represent some embodiments solely given by way of non limiting example, and wherein: